FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – In a preseason poll of the nine Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) coaches, the Trine University softball team has been tabbed to win its sixth straight MIAA Championship.

The Thunder received vote totaling 61 points including six first-place votes to take the top spot in the poll. The points are determined by votes cast by the association's coaches, who cannot vote for their own team. Calvin University, which finished second in the last season in both the regular season and MIAA tournament, kept the vote close picking up 58 points and three first-place votes to come in at second. The Knights were the only MIAA team to beat Trine in 2024 and both teams were featured in the NFCA preseason national rankings.

Last season the Thunder finished with a 14-2 record in MIAA play before sweeping the MIAA tournament to automatically qualify for the national tournament. It was the program's 13^th MIAA championship and the fifth straight. The team had eight members secure spots on All-MIAA teams with six set to return for the 2025 season.

Headlining the group are the team's four first-team selections, including juniors Debbie Hill and Karley Trine, sophomore Tyra Marcum and fifth-year senior Alexis Michon. Senior Emma Beyer and junior Macy Rocha return from the second-team.

The Thunder enter the season as the tenth best team in the country according the NFCA/GoRout Division III Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll. Calvin was the only other member of the MIAA to appear in that poll, coming in at 20.

Trine is scheduled to begin their season at the 2025 NFCA Leadoff Classic, which runs from Friday, February 28 through Sunday, March 2. They will open the season with a game against Linfield at 10 a.m. followed by Wartburg College at 12:30 p.m.